RAVEN'S POV
"Try it again," I encourage Miran. My blade comes up into the guarding position, and I watch him bring his own sword up to mirror mine, his brown eyes narrowed in concentration.
I wait, relaxed, listening to my men clash in training all around us. Miran will move first. He always does. He's good - one of my three most skilled soldiers - but his fault is his lack of control.
Miran lashes his sword in a straightforward cut, stepping towards me for extra power. I step to the right, my blade sweeping up to knock his sword up and back. He barely keeps it from hitting his face as I move on the offensive, my blade flashing in a simple pattern.
To his credit, Miran recovers and evades my blade. He spins, sword reaching out with the force of his turn. I block it, then parry a wild slash.
"You're strong, but you still lack coordination and control," I say, flicking my blade up to block his downward cut. "One of these days, that'll be the death of you... Like this."
He lunges forward in a high step as I speak, sword reaching out in a powerful thrust. I pivot to the left, off the line of his attack. He doesn't meet any resistance to his strike, and as he stumbles forward, I reach out with my right hand to grab his collar. Yanking him off balance, I drag him toward me and raise my blade. He struggles for a couple seconds, then he realizes that the edge of my blade is at his throat.
He stops moving rather quickly. I keep my blade there for a couple seconds to prove the point, then step down and lower my blade to my side.
"You overshot," I tell him. "Remember to keep your strikes under control."
"Fighting a left-handed person is hard, Captain," he complains. "The directions are reversed."
"That doesn't affect your control," I remind him. Or lack of it, I think. "You'll have to fight left-handed-people like me anyways, so you might as well get used to it."
He meets my dark gaze for a couple seconds, but then looks down, staring at his sword. I flick his weapon with the tip of my blade to get his attention.
"Try it again," I tell him. "But this time, try and keep your power under control."
He sighs. "Yes, sir."
+o+o+o+
I stop the training about an hour later, giving my men the rest of the day off. Most of them wander off back to camp, where they'll probably spend their time playing cards and talking. The smart ones will clean their weapons, since I'll be checking them sometime tonight.
I, on the other hand, stay in the training field. I wander over to lean against a tree at the edge of the field, waiting.
The sunlight feels good on my face, and I close my eyes. I rest my blade against the tree, rolling my shoulder to get the stiffness out. I wish I'd brought the sheath.
My mind starts to wander, first going to the training session. Something seemed off about it, but I can't put my finger on it. My men are all skilled fighters, though they weren't necessarily that way when they first came under my command. It felt like something was missing, though...
I open my eyes as I realize what it was. "Alex. Alex wasn't there," I say aloud.
Though Alex isn't under my command - we're the same rank - he usually drops by my training sessions to help. He's a good fighter, ambidextrous, and he uses both a sword and a knife in battle. We're pretty evenly matched when we spar. He also happens to be my best friend, almost a brother to me, and we've saved each other's lives on the battlefield.
"Raven!"
I grin at the familiar voice, all thoughts about Alex disappearing as Seris bursts out of the treeline. The sunlight glints off her copper hair as she runs across the field, her stride fast and powerful.
I watch her, drinking in the fact that she's my fiancee. Then Seris is hugging me, and I hug back.
"Where were you?" I ask.
She pulls away to look up at me. "Practicing archery."
"How did it go?" I ask, smiling as her hand slips into mine. Her hand is calloused, and I love that.
"About as well as usual," she sighs. "There were a couple of other people at the range again, but they mostly ignored me."
"Mostly?" Unintentionally, my muscles tense. A couple of people in the Crow Mercenaries think that women shouldn't fight. Nobody under my command thinks that, of course. I made sure of that when Seris first started training.
"Mostly," Seris confirms, a mischievous gleam entering her green eyes. "They stopped paying attention to me after getting pinned to the target."
"You... pinned someone to the archery target?"
"Only by their clothes," Seris says defensively. "And it was really their own fault, for standing in front of a target and challenging me to hit the,"
I rake my left hand through my hair and laugh. If I were inclined to strictly follow the rules, then I would ask for these men's names and report them to headquarters. But I don't need any more enemies - I already have a target painted on me, for being a commoner with the rank of 'Captain'.
Besides, Seris prefers to fight her own battles. It can be annoying when she doesn't allow me to protect her, but I know that I'd like her less if she wasn't a fighter.
She steps to my right side, nestling into my body. I free my hand from hers, draping my arm around her shoulders and drawing her ever so slightly closer.
"How did your training session go?" she asks. I shrug.
"They're finally starting to see the point of daily practice," I say. Mandatory training sessions aren't normal in the Crow Mercenaries. Usually, it's up to the individual fighters to train their skills. The captains check fighting ability every month or so, and report on the men.
"With you as their commanding officer, I can see why," Seris purrs. I twist to the side and look down at her, my dark eyes piercing.
"Is this flattery I detect, my lioness?" I tease. She just smiles in response.
"Of course not, Raven," she says. Hearing how she says my name sends a shiver down my back.
"So, did you beat Alex in training today?"
"He wasn't there," I tell her. "He probably had paperwork to do."
Seris reaches up and flicks me on the nose. "You have piles of paperwork too, Raven. You still make time to train."
I shrug. "I won't second-guess my best friend," I tell her. "And I should probably go whittle down that stack of paper that you ever so kindly mentioned." My actions contradict my words, though, as I gather her closer.
Seris laughs. "You probably should," she agrees. She twists around, reaches up, and puts her hand on my cheek, the smooth metal of her couple's ring cool against my face.
She studies me, still smiling. "You're blushing," she observes, and I grin, turning to face her completely and bringing my right hand up to cup the back of her head. She tilts her head back, her green eyes half-closed.
The kiss is short, but no less sweet for its length. I'm the one to break it, knowing that if it goes on any longer, I won't be able to stop.
Seris draws back, smiling. From the look in her eyes, she knows exactly the feeling she's just evoked in me, and she enjoys it.
"Going to go do your work?" Seris asks, and I sigh.
"Yeah, probably should." I glance to the tree next to us, reaching out for the blade leaning against it, when a commanding voice stops me.
"Captain Raven?"
I turn, recognizing the voice as belonging to one of my superiors. I think this is one of the ones that doesn't like me. "Yes, sir?"
The man's face is cold as he says, "Captain, you're under arrest."
Under arrest?
My face feels numb as I ask, "For what?"
"Treason," the man replies, stepping forward. Beside me, I hear Seris gasp.
SERIS' POV
Treason.
Treason.
Treason.
Treason.
The word echoes in my mind for a couple minutes after the mercenaries take Raven away, likely to the Velder prison. I can't comprehend it.
People can be executed for treason.
I step back, wondering if my fiance is going to die, and my foot hits steel. I look behind me.
Raven's gray blade is still leaning against the tree. Seeing it brings a flurry of thoughts to my mind, but one rises above the rest.
Alex.
He's the only hope Raven has. Whoever judges him won't listen to the word of a commoner, but Alex is noble-born, even though he's a third son. The judge would listen to him, and Alex is Raven's best friend. He would do that for Raven.
Acting fast, I turn and take Raven's blade. It's heavy - far heavier than I expected - and I wonder how Raven wields it with such ease. And he usually fights one-handed, too.
I manage to lift it with two hands, and the weight seems to lighten. Raven told me that if that happens, then the steel is properly balanced.
I adjust my grip on the blade's hilt, trying to remember how Raven told me to hold it. He tried to teach me to use a sword, before I found out I was a better archer, and I nearly tear up at the memory.
"Wake up, Seris," I murmur to myself, shaking free of the memories, and start walking. After a couple steps, Raven's blade seems slightly lighter, and I break into a run. I need to get to Alex and tell him what happened to Raven.
+o+o+o+
Five minutes later, I lean my weight against the door to the office that Alex and Raven share, and shove it open.
It looks the same as always. There are the towering piles of paper, most of them probably demands for budget cuts that Raven and Alex will studiously ignore. Raven's desk is neater than Alex's by a margin, with all his writing instruments stacked neatly at the edge under a crow sculpture I gave him for Valentine's Day. Alex has his things strewn haphazardly all around, and I have no idea how he finds anything.
But Alex isn't here, and my heart sinks.
I cross to Raven's desk, finding his blade's sheath and covering the bare steel with black leather. "What now?" I wonder aloud.
I turn to leave, wondering if Alex is with his men, when a glint of greenish metal catches my eye from his desk. I hesitate, wondering if I should go look for Alex or investigate.
"Just a peek, Seris," I tell myself. Tucking my hair behind my ears, I approach Alex's desk and look around.
I soon find what caught my eye – one of Alex's many knives, lying on his desk. Shards of green rock lie scattered, and a green glow shimmers around the weapon.
A chill shoots down my back. I know what that green glow is - a poison attribute, the weaponized version of the nature El. El shards are expensive. Why does Alex have a poisoned knife?
The chill spreads as my eyes cast over the rest of his desk and land on a crumpled piece of paper. I can see the word 'Raven' written on it.
My hand reaches for it before I'm conscious of my decision, smoothing out the paper and reading what's written on it.
There are many cross-outs and revisions, but the gist of the letter - because it's a rough draft of a letter - is clear. It's an accusation of treason against Raven, and it's in Alex's cramped handwriting.
I freeze, then a flash of red anger floods over me, making me crumple the paper. I know that Raven doesn't trust easily, but he trusted Alex. And it was Alex who framed him for treason?
The thought crystallizes in my mind, turning my heart to steel. If I can't save my fiance from dying the legal way, through the court, I'll do it in a not-so-legal way. And I know just the people who will help me. Raven does have other friends in the Crow Mercenaries, after all.
The door to Raven and Alex's office swings shut behind me as I walk away. Raven's blade is in my hands, sheathed, but it feels like there's another blade that has just been unsheathed within my chest.
RAVEN'S POV
Crossed spears force me to my knees on the hard flagstones. My hands are chained behind me, and one of the guards also bound my arms to my torso. There's no way in hell I'm getting out of here.
I don't like not having an escape. My fear tries again to make itself known, but I force it back to the side and scan the room.
Rows of Crow Mercenary knights are stationed at the edges of the large stone room. Everyone hates drawing court and prison duty, but right now, I hope one of my men is watching. My eyes scan the rows of fighters on either side of the rooms, searching for one I recognize. I think I recognize one - a small red-haired boy- before a commanding voice draws my attention.
"Captain Raven, of the Crow Mercenary Knights."
"Yes, sir," I say automatically, then wonder if it might have been better to keep silent.
"We have a witness that saw you meet with one of Velder's enemies, and you seemed to be very friendly with them," the official in front of me says. "What have you to say to that?"
"Nothing, sir. I don't know what you're talking about," I reply. The official's blond eyebrows draw together in annoyance.
I watch as he says a few curt words to a man I assume is his assistant, and is standing quietly beside him. The man nods and hurries to the door, beckoning in someone standing outside.
I hear familiar footsteps ring on the stones behind me. They're light, measured steps, the steps of someone who's extremely used to having complete control.
Alex, I think, and the fear shifts to relieved confusion. Why is Alex here? Didn't the official basically say he was calling in the accuser, not someone to vouch for me?
My confusion vanishes with Alex's next few words. I wish it had stayed.
"Yes," he says. "That's the traitor."
+o+o+o+
I am shoved into a cell, stone walls on all sides and a small cot in the corner. It's a standard prison cell for Velder. My hands have been re-chained in front of me, and as the guards step back, I scramble around to face them.
Alex stands there at parade rest, staring at me. I open my mouth, but he speaks first.
"Enjoy your stay, traitor," Alex says, his tone as cold as his ice-blue eyes.
Suddenly, I can't remember what I wanted to say. I fumble for words, but he just gives me a contemptuous look and turns to walk out, the guards falling in step behind him. His long blond braid is the last thing I see before the door slides shut, and I am alone.
I did that braid this morning.
I despise braids.
Alone, I slump to the ground, all energy gone. They sentenced me to death, my execution to be carried out in three days.
The chains on my wrists weigh my hands down as I bring them to my face, finally allowing my fear to break through my stoic facade.
SERIS' POV
I find the three men I'm looking for in the armory. They're passing around a bottle while cleaning and sharpening their weapons.
All three of them look up as I walk in.
"Seris!" one of them says. I think his name is Calum. "Want a drink?" He holds the metal flask out to me.
"Want an opportunity to save your captain from being executed?" I ask.
Suddenly, there's no movement. I've stunned them into stillness.
I drop Raven's blade on the table that they're gathered around, massaging my arm. Good El, how does he carry that thing around all day?
"Seris... Are you serious?" the blond swordsman, Miran, asks me. His whetstone is idle on his sword's edge.
I stare at him disbelievingly. Why does he think I would lie? My eyes pierce into him until he finally looks away.
Giving them time to think, I turn and walk to the long-range section of the armory. I select my usual bow, a light recurve with a manageable draw weight, and string it. When I turn around, the three men around the table are exchanging uneasy looks.
"What is it?" I ask. Patience is not one of my greatest qualities.
The one next to Miran, Chris, is the first to speak. "Seris... You're a known trickster, but don't joke about Captain Raven being... Well..."
I stare at him with the same glare I gave Miran. "Chris, I'm not joking. Raven has been framed for treason, and I don't know where he is."
The three exchange another uneasy look, and I'm wondering how to convince them when a red-haired boy of about nineteen bursts in. He carries a helmet under his arm, and his face is flushed from running in armor.
"Miran... Miran..." he pants, then sees me. "Seris... I'm sorry..."
"What happened?" I ask, feeling a twinge of panic. My fingers curve tighter around the bow's grip. Did they execute Raven on the spot? They have the right to do that to traitors.
The boy is panting too hard to speak. He looks scared. Miran gets up from the table, laying his sword down upon it, and moves over to the boy.
"Ashton. Ssssh. What happened? Aren't you supposed to be on prison duty?"
Ashton gets his breathing under control, then looks up and blurts out, "It's Captain Raven. He's been imprisoned for treason!"
The room freezes for a second, then all eyes swing to me. I shrug, though the bow stays in a death-grip.
"I tried to tell you," I say. "He got taken away when he was with me, after your training session."
Calum's hand strays to a metal rod on the table. Yellow sparks fizzle from the tip as he touches it. "Can we bribe him out?" he asks.
I frown, wondering what would prompt him to say that, when I remember that Calum is the son of an ennobled merchant. He has money.
Before anyone can get too excited about the idea, I shake my head. "That won't work. Whatever money you pay, I doubt it will be enough to sway what Alex has paid."
This sets off another round of shock. I wait impatiently for it to die down. We're wasting time.
Chris's voice rises above the rest. "Alex? Captain Alex? Why would he pay anyone to imprison Captain Raven?"
Not for the first time, I wish that they would stop putting Raven's title in front of his name all the time. Raven is on extremely good terms with his men, and they approach him for almost anything they need. He follows through on his promises to them, too. I know that he would ask them to drop the 'captain' if he could, but they'll get in trouble if any of Raven's superiors hear them speaking to him as a familiar.
"I don't know," I answer Chris honestly.
Ashton speaks up. "Yeah, I saw him - Captain Alex - he was being called in as the witness who saw Captain Raven with one of our enemies."
Miran, Chris, and Calum share a glance, then Calum draws himself up. "Ashton, did you hear the whole trial? When is his execution set?"
"It wasn't much of a trial, but Captain Raven's execution's in three days," Ashton says. A wash of fear sweeps over me, and I concentrate on the smooth wood of the bow in my left hand. Three days isn't that long.
"Alright," Calum says, and a calculating expression flashes across his face. "Go tell the others that Captain Raven has been framed. Tell them that if they want to save themselves, that's fine, but if they want to help Captain Raven, then they need to come to the training field after sundown. We'll start to make plans then."
Ashton turns to leave, but pauses as Chris calls after him. "And for the El Lady's sake, DON'T LET ANYONE ELSE HEAR YOU. We've got enough problems right now without being imprisoned for treason ourselves."
Ashton turns slightly to nod, then runs out. As soon as he's out of the room, I whirl to face Calum.
"Tonight? We only have three days, Calum! We should start planning now!"
Miran laughs, placing a hand on Calum's shoulder. "And we will start planning now, Seris. But we can't go and panic everyone else. We have to look like we know what we're doing. That's why Ashton's telling them to come tonight, after we've had time to concoct a hare-brained plan."
"Not to mention the fact that some of the newer recruits probably need time to make up their minds." Chris comes to stand on Calum's other side, hanging off the blue-haired man's shoulder. "Now. Do you want to plan with us, or would you rather go commit suicide by storming the prison with a party of one?"
I stay frozen for a second, then I force my fingers to loosen on the bow. I unstring it and place it back on the wall, seething inwardly the whole time. Logically, what they're saying makes sense. But I don't want Raven to spend time in the Velder prison for something he didn't do.
When I turn around, Miran is grinning at me.
"Good choice, because my idea involves you," he announces, and starts telling us what he wants us to do.
RAVEN'S POV
Food gets shoved into my cell for the third time. I know from my stints on prison duty that they feed prisoners twice a day, and know from that that it's the evening before I'm scheduled to die.
I sit on the hard, low bed, staring at the food. I have no desire to eat it.
I sigh, leaning back and propping my head against the stone wall. It's cold, but then again, so is almost everything else in here. It's better than it would be in summer, though - Velder summers are brutal. I would be roasting in my chains.
I wonder for perhaps the hundredth time today what Seris is doing. Does she miss me? I hope she won't come to my execution, though in a way, I also hope she does. It would be nice to see her one last time.
I sit forward again, staring at my right hand, and at the silver band that encircles the ring finger. A black crow decorates the otherwise plain metal, but I notice that it's slightly off-center. I straighten it on my hand.
The jewelry transfixes my gaze as I think about what Seris and I had. My thoughts wander to my comrades, and then make a short leap to Alex. I never would have thought he would betray me. Why did he?
My hand clenches into a fist as I remember what I've lost. It'll be doubly hard for anyone else to work their way up to where I was, since the stigma of the first commoner captain will be upon him. I silently wish luck to the commoner who dares to try.
Hell, what was I thinking when I tried? I knew that it might come to this, but when I was promoted again and again, I let down my guard. And now look what's happened.
There's a clash down the hall - a clattering that lasts for a couple seconds, and is quickly silenced. Maybe someone dropped something.
I continue to stare at my couple's ring. I miss Seris so much, and it's worse knowing that I'll probably never see her again.
Another outburst of sound in the stone hallways, but this time, it seems closer. I wonder who the unlucky, clumsy guard is that keeps dropping things.
I suddenly notice light, rhythmic sounds coming down the hall. Footsteps, but of a small group. Prison guards patrol in pairs, not groups.
What is going on?
There's fumbling outside my door, and suddenly it flies open. Light shines into my cell, and I blink from the sudden brightness.
Before my eyes can adjust, my body gets shoved to the side as someone throws themself at me. I sway to the side, then feel arms flung around me and hair of a familiar color streaming around my shoulder.
"...Seris?"
She pulls away to look at me. I stare at her, disbelieving, then look at the door through which she came. Miran, Chris, and Calum stand there, grinning. I notice that Calum is holding my sheathed blade as well as his own magical rod.
"What...?" I ask, a bit stunned.
Calum steps into the cell and lays my blade beside me, then kneels to undo my chains with his magic. "We're busting you out, Captain. C'mon."
I stare at the blade, then at Seris, standing in front of me. A pang of regret singes through me. Any other time, I would have thought it would be Alex getting me out.
Seris searches my face, and I think she can tell that I'm thinking about Alex. She smiles.
"Wake up, Raven. No time for regrets."
Calum finishes with the lock and the chains clatter to the floor. For the first time in days, my hands are free.
I stand and slide my blade out of the covering, feeling the familiar weight. Seris is right. There'll be time to mourn the loss of Alex's friendship later.
"Do they know you're here?" I ask Miran. He shrugs.
"We knocked out a couple guards on our way down, Captain. I don't know if they've regained consciousness."
I nod, racing through possible strategies in my mind. "Right. We need to get out of here as fast as possible, then, hopefully before an alarm is raised." I settle the sheath for my blade over my back, keeping the bare steel in my hand, and look at my comrades and fiancee. "Let's go."
+o+o+o+
Miran, it seems, was able to round up quite a bit of support for me – about twelve of my other comrades. Said support joins us in the woods outside the prison. Everyone there has served under or with me for about two years, and they're all people I would call my friends.
Chris tosses Seris a bow, and she catches it. "Thanks," she tells him, and goes over to where a quiver of arrows is leaning against a tree.
I catch up to her before she takes two steps, grasping her wrist. "You're not... planning to fight, are you?" I ask quietly. I knew she was running away with us, but I wasn't planning for her to be in any fights.
She looks up at me, green eyes nonplussed. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because it's dangerous," I say. "If you die, then-"
"Stop being dumb, Raven," Seris says. "You're my fiance, I'm going to fight for you. Besides, I'm an archer. I'll be away from the melee fighting, and your men need cover from the back anyways."
I open my mouth to argue, but pause when I can't come up with a good reason why she shouldn't fight. Seris sees this, and her eyes laugh at me.
"Don't worry, Raven. I can shoot," she says lightly, breaking away from my grasp and taking up the quiver.
I still don't want her to fight, but what can I do? She'll do exactly what she likes, and I've learned that over the time I've known her.
With a sigh, I give in. "If you die, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you," I warn her with a smile.
She smiles back. "If I die, it'll likely be over your dead body."
We don't have any more time to talk, as Miran comes up to me with the news that everyone's ready, and they all know what they're doing. Only my closest friends – Chris, Calum, and Miran – are coming with us. The others will stay behind and cover for our disappearance, maybe send the Crow Mercenaries on the wrong trail.
After a round of goodbyes and a fair amount of gratitude from me – they're all risking their lives and careers, after all – we disperse to go our separate ways. My friends, Seris, and I head into the woods, planning to go to the general vicinity of a town called Ruben. Though it's technically under Velder's jurisdiction, it's pretty much independent. We can lay low there for a while while we figure out what to do next.
+o+o+o+
After about an hour of walking, it's finally starting to sink in. I'm free. I'm not going to die. Seris and I can get married. I've gotten a reputation for stoicism in the Crow Mercenaries, but right now, I can't keep a smile off my face.
Seris nudges me as we walk. "What's so funny?"
I shrug. "It's good to be alive."
That's when the first arrow hits.
+o+o+o+
Miran goes down, an arrow in his shoulder. He hisses in pain. The rest of us are immediately on guard, looking around frantically. I reach for my blade and whip it out of the sheath, remembering to look up for a threat.
Archers. In the trees. We just walked into an ambush. I curse myself – how did I not see this coming? Of course they would be looking for an escaped prisoner, especially someone they think is a traitor!
No time to think about that now. I take a quick inventory of my men. Chris' longbow is at half-draw, and the point of the arrow swings wildly as he tries to decide where to aim. Calum grips his rod with white-knuckled hands, and he's touching the tip of the rod to Miran's pierced shoulder. Seris is right next to me, an arrow on the string of her bow. I can hear her quick breath, tempered by determined efforts to steady it.
"Looks like we've caught a traitor," a smooth voice says from behind us. Seris whips around in shock, and I turn more slowly. I know that voice.
"Alex!" Seris hisses before I can say anything.
My one-time friend stares at Seris with calculating blue eyes. "Seris. How lovely to see you. I suppose Raven dragged you off with him on this hare-brained adventure?"
"I'm surprised you aren't coming with us," Seris spits. She raises her weapon, the arrow pointing directly at Alex. "You traitor, why did you frame Raven?"
Alex's eyes give him away. They flick to the archers in the trees, and also to the bushes around us. I can guess that we're surrounded by mercenaries, and my grip on my blade tightens. I won't go down without a fight.
"Raven shouldn't have betrayed his country," he says smoothly. Damn, he lies well. "I don't want to hurt you, Seris. It's obvious that you're innocent."
"You'd better not hurt her, Alex." I finally find words. "Don't hurt Miran, Chris, and Calum, either. I'm the only one you want."
"They aided a traitor." Alex's gaze switches to me with ease. There is none of the familiar warmth in his eyes. "That in itself is a traitorous action."
I grit my teeth, unable to find a response. I may not have had the extensive education that Alex has, but I know the laws well enough to recognize when he's right.
Alex smiles, and it's a terrifying smile that I haven't seen before. He motions forward. "Get the traitors. Leave the woman alive, but incapacitate her."
Mercenaries come from the bushes, most of them men that I have seen and fought beside before. I slide one foot back, bringing my blade up, before they're on us.
I find myself fighting three men at once. One of them is hesitant, and I take care of him first, disarming him with a quick flash of my blade and sweeping his legs from under him.
A sword slices at me, and I quickly spin, blade outstretched to knock away the mercenary behind the blow. The second one tries to sneak up on me, but his lack of skill gives him away and I manage to dodge his spear's thrust.
A couple quick steps back puts a bit of distance between them and me. The swordsman is on guard, while the mercenary with the spear makes a couple of experimental jabs toward me.
I deflect them with ease, taking the risk of a quick glance around. My three comrades are fighting together in a defensive circle as Crow Mercenaries prowl around them. They work together almost perfectly. Miran's swordplay is definitely better than it was a month ago, Chris switches easily between offensive and defensive magic, and Calum is shooting steadily.
Seris is at the edge of the clearing, in a duel with the archers. Her opponents could easily kill her, I see, but they're hampered by the occasional arrow from Calum and that order from Alex to not harm her. Seris has no such qualms. She shoots steadily, with at least two-thirds of her arrows finding targets.
The persistent spear jabs again, and I again knock it to the side. Then the swordsman lunges, forcing me to step back and parry his thrust. And here comes the spearman, slicing at me.
I duck, and the spear crashes into the mercenary with the sword. They both go down in a tangle of wood, steel, and limbs.
I take a breath before going to help my comrades with their own fight. Maybe we'll get out of this after all...
"Raven!" Seris shouts, her grip on the arrow going slack. I whirl around as a knife from Alex spins past me.
"I won't let you go," he announces as he strides towards me. His right hand, the one with his sword, comes up in a guarding position. "It'll ruin my career if I do."
"Screw your career, what about our friendship?" I'm on guard too, watching Alex's movements warily. We're evenly matched when it comes to fighting.
"Word to the wise, Raven." Alex steps forward in a cautious slash as he speaks. "Friendship means nothing when it comes to rank."
I block the experimental slash and dodge the following knife strike. Before Alex can pull back, I move with an attack of my own, aiming for his wrist and legs.
Alex either blocks or dodges all of the blows except one, which lands on his arm and scores a long, though superficial, gash. He grimaces and attempts to counter.
We go back and forth for a couple of minutes, and I don't dare take my eyes off of him to check how everyone else is doing. Alex and I are just as well-matched as we were the last time we sparred, a week or so ago. The only difference now is that he obviously wants to win – he continually aims for vital points. I, on the other hand, am not sure that I want to hurt the man who was my best friend.
I grit my teeth, lunging for him. He moves out of the way and my strike only grazes his neck. His knife, on the other hand, comes up and slashes at my face. My reflexes save me from losing an eye, but suddenly there's a stabbing pain in my eyebrow and blood in my left eye. Alex presses his advantage, following it up with a knife slash to my left arm.
Pain lances through my arm and shoulder, nearly making me drop my blade. There is no way I'll be able to move that arm now. I switch to a right-handed grip on my blade, scoot back a couple of steps, attempt to blink the blood out of my eye, and thank the El Lady that I've practiced with both hands extensively.
I ready myself for another exhausting back-and-forth, until a pained cry changes everything.
Alex and I both look over at Seris, who holds herself up against a tree. A cruel arrow pokes clear through her leg.
I dash over to her, but Alex gets there first, wrapping his sword arm around her and placing his knife at her throat. "I don't want to hurt her, but I will," he warns, and I wonder again just who Alex has turned into.
Seris manages to roll her eyes, even with an arrow through her leg and a knife at her throat. "He'll hurt me anyways, Raven," she says, then is cut off with a choked scream as Alex uses his foot to poke at her arrow wound.
"No talking," he chides.
I don't see anything but red. Seris' scream echoes in my ears as I lash out with my blade, all of my skill lost in my rage and desire to kill the one who hurt Seris.
Caught off guard, Alex is forced to release Seris and counter my flurry of strikes. I hear Seris crumple to the ground as I drive Alex away from her. My rage makes me incautious, though, and soon Alex's blade is locked with mine, hilt to hilt.
Alex grins, for some reason. Why is he grinning?
A stabbing pain in my hip reminds me of the knife in his other hand. Stupid, stupid, stupid Raven! I've been fighting alongside Alex for at least three years; why did I not remember his knife?
My leg gives out under me as Alex drags the knife down, then frees it and slashes at my chest. The ground rushes up to meet me.
I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Where's Seris? What happened to Miran, Chris, and Calum?
Still struggling to breathe against the searing pain in my chest, I manage to look over to where my friends are fighting. I'm just in time to see Chris go down, his bow snapped in half. Miran lunges out of their circle impulsively, managing to bring down two people but getting driven back by the majority of their opponents.
I told him that his impulsiveness would be his death. Why didn't he listen?
Calum has a magical shield over himself and Chris, but as he tries to extend it to Miran, it fails. His rod glows white-hot in his hand, then shatters, some of the iron pieces piercing Calum.
He crumples to the ground in an awkward, unnatural position.
Chris' back arches in pain as two different spears drive into him, one through his chest and another through his eye. There is no way he could have survived that, and even my pain-spiked brain recognizes that.
Miran is now fighting furiously, but he can't defend against attacks from all sides. He goes down, bleeding from numerous slashes.
I don't see his death, but I see his body as the mercenaries step back from it. Now there are three unmoving fighters on the ground. I led them here, my ignorance orchestrated their deaths. I close my eyes, then hurriedly open them as the pain spikes.
Seris. Where is Seris?
That question is answered as something – someone – stumbles to the ground next to me, and gentle hands are suddenly turning me over. I look up into Seris' bloodstained face.
"You're hurt," I say, and it's all I can think about for a moment.
Seris grimaces, and then Alex looms over her. I open my mouth to try to warn her, but it turns into a coughing fit, and pain sears through my chest as Alex raises his knife.
Protect her. I know I won't survive very long, but I still manage to raise one arm and shove Seris out of the way. Alex's knife buries itself in my left arm, the one that was already unusable, and I realize that the hoarse scream is mine.
Seris is on the ground, scrambling up and putting herself between Alex and me. Alex studies her, blue eyes flickering to her pierced leg and noting the way that she can't put any weight on it. She'll be seriously at a disadvantage if Alex tries to strike.
"Get out of the way," Alex warns in a low voice. "You don't have to die today, Seris."
The sound of her name in his mouth makes me want to scream again. Oh, wait, maybe that's the pain.
"But Raven does?" she challenges him. Her voice is weaker than usual, blood still trickling from her arrow wound.
"Raven is a traitor," Alex says through gritted teeth. I can tell he's very close to losing his composure, which was never as tightly held as mine in the first place.
Pain spikes through my chest and arm again, causing me to lose track of their conversation for a couple minutes. When I force myself to pay attention again, Seris has just delivered a comment that causes Alex to completely lose his temper.
"You bitch," he snarls, lunging forward. I can't protect Seris. I can't.
I failed.
Seris falls backward, blood spurting from a laceration across her throat. She lands on the cuts on my chest, and my vision goes black for a second before I force it to clear.
Seris' lifeless eyes are staring at me, her lank, bloody blond hair spread over the ground. I want to deny it, to pretend that she'll get up in a moment, but the blood gushing from her throat and soaking my clothes says otherwise. She's a lot heavier in death than she was in life, I think, and I immediately hate myself for it.
Suddenly, the weight lifts, and I'm both relieved and horrified to see Alex heaving Seris off me. Horror quickly takes over as he kneels beside me, placing his sword to the side and taking his red-stained knife in his right hand.
Seris' blood is on his face, his clothes are nearly drenched with it. The sticky wetness on my own skin isn't all my blood, I know, but it's so much worse to see my one-time best friend soaked with my fiancee's blood.
Alex raises the knife, centering it over my heart. I raise my chin as much as I can, trying to see the sky.
I wonder why it's getting dark, then realize just how much blood I've lost. Death likely isn't very far away.
"Feeling sorry for yourself yet?" Alex says softly, the words meant for only my ears. "I made sure you were the last to die."
"Get it over with," I growl, staring at him. "I have nothing left." Pain batters at me from so many places that I can't keep track – my chest and arm are both prominent contenders, as is my face. The debilitating guilt and pain over Seris' death will probably come later, if there is a later.
"Just... make it quick." I look quickly at Alex's cruelly handsome face. Why did I not see the cruelty in those features earlier?
Alex smiles, raising the knife a couple inches – only to set it down softly, the point just barely digging into the cuts on my chest, smile gone.
"I can't do it," he mutters, seemingly incredulous. Then he reclaims his smile, speaking a bit louder.
"No, I don't think I will." His tone is conversational, and I'm suddenly more scared than ever before. "You see, it won't be long before you die on your own, and what better way for you to die than racked with guilt over the deaths of Miran, Chris, Calum, and..." He pretends to think for a moment, like he's forgotten the final name. "Oh, Seris too, of course."
I hate him. I hate him I hate him I hate him IhatehimIhatehimIhatehim.
Alex stands up, looming over me and purposely nudging my ruined arm. An agonized scream rips from my throat as pure, white-hot pain sears through me.
"I'll collect your body after I deal with the traitors you left behind," he says quietly, and leaves with his strike force trailing after him.
Suddenly I don't even have the strength to keep my eyes open, and I let them half-close, keeping only a vague view of the sky. Seris is dead. My comrades are either dead or going to be dead soon. Only my best friend is still alive, and he is responsible for this carnage.
I vaguely hear something, a voice, asking if I want revenge. It promises a new life if I agree, filled with vengeance and power.
I don't know what it is that I'm hearing, but the tiny, tiny portion of my brain that still functions tells me that I shouldn't agree.
The pain spikes again, as does my hate for Alex. I can't move, can't think, can't feel anything but the searing pain, can't hear anything but the tempting voice.
It asks again. Do I want rebirth, vengeance for the wrongs done to me and the power to strike down anything that stands in my way?
With what I am certain is my last breath, I manage to gasp out my answer.
"Yes."
And there is nothing else.